$4,000 Settlement Agreed To In Bicycle Accident

MANCHESTER — A resident who was seriously injured after her bicycle ran into a hole on Cooper Street and flipped over will be given $4,000 by the town for her injuries.

The town's board of directors voted at a meeting Tuesday to settle with Elizabeth Maher after two years of negotiations. The settlement to avoid a trial provides the money to compensate Maher for her injuries and to meet other town liabilities.

Maher could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Maher originally wanted $22,000 for her injuries, which included a separated left shoulder, a puncture wound to the left shoulder, abrasions to her left leg and knee and an injury to her left wrist.

The town initially proposed paying Maher $1,500. But at a pre-trial hearing in March, court officials recommended that both parties accept the $4,000 as a settlement, and Maher and her attorney recently agreed.

The accident occurred about 10 p.m. July 15, 1990, as Maher was riding her bicycle south on Cooper Street, towards Cooper Hill Street. Maher ran into a 5-by-8 foot depression in the road and was flipped off her bicycle.

She was treated for her injuries, underwent physical therapy and was discharged from her doctor's care in August 1990. Maher has no permanent disabilities resulting from the accident, but has a bump on her shoulder and a scar from a puncture wound she suffered in the accident.

The site of the accident had been patched in May 1990 after sewer work was completed and had settled below street level by the time of the accident, town officials said. The area was inspected after Maher's accident, and town officials confirmed that there was a depression in the roadway.

General Manager Richard Sartor said Wednesday that the settlement helped avoid the possibility of greater loss to the town through a trial or other recourse.

``In this case, our attorney recommended we resolve the issue, and I concurred,'' said Sartor. ``There was the possibility of greater losses because of the trial.''